The understanding of nature in the Old Testament: an investigation of some scholarly views

In Part I section A examines J. Pedersen's exposition of the Hebrew view of nature in the context of his ideas concerning Israelite modes of thought. It is argued that Pedersen brings to his interpretation of the biblical text notions about ancient Israelite psychology and linguistic usage which destroy the intelligibility of the Old Testament for a modern reader, and which involve Pedersen himself in obscurities and grave inconsistencies. Section B examines W. Eichrodt's claim to have discovered two apparently mutually exclusive, but never the less reconcilable views of nature in the Old Testament. It is argued that this claim involves a contradiction. An extensive survey of biblical texts reveals the lack of evidence to support it. Sections C and D concern the belief of G. Von Rad and H. W. Robinson that ancient Israelites saw the natural world as pervaded by the direct activity of God. It is suggested that this belief arose out of a confused concept of causation and cannot be sustained by an appeal to the text. Section E examines two volumes by E. C. Rust, which raise problems of philosophy as well as biblical interpretation. Sections B, D and E also examine the problems raised by the concept of the miraculous for those scholars who see the divine preservation of the world as creation continua. Part II outlines and criticises scholarly interpretations of the Israelite classification of creatures into clean and unclean, followed by a consideration of the opinions of anthropologists concerning this and similar classifications in primitive societies and their symbolic significance. The problems of interpreting anthropological evidence are considered; and the work of Durkheim and his influence on the thought of Mary Douglas are examined. Douglas's work suggests that a fresh approach to the Old Testament view of nature may be necessary in the light of anthropological research

“The Same Authority as God”: The U. S. Presidency and Executive Power in the Works of Thomas Pynchon, Philip Roth and Cormac McCarthy

This thesis aims to interrogate the role and representation of the United States presidency, presidential figures and avatars, and the question of executive power more generally, in the works of Thomas Pynchon, Philip Roth and Cormac McCarthy. Observing a gap in current criticism of these authors, and American literature generally, I propose that the presidency/executive provides a new and important way of mapping these authors’ work. In this I seek to build on Sean McCann’s work on this area in A Pinnacle of Feeling. My project situates itself in a historical framework, investigating the extensive network of historical evidence that each author uses in their conception of and dialogue with the presidency and executive power. My argument takes Pynchon’s portrayal of George Washington, the United States’ semi-mythical first president, in Mason & Dixon as its starting point, then proceeds to consider a range of texts before finally discussing the presence of Ronald Reagan and the rise of corporate power in McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. I posit that in each of these authors’ work, the executive power is present simultaneously as an embodied and a “phantom” force, shaping the narrative and subjective individual experiences even when characters are not expressly engaged in political activity. A complex relay between embodied and phantom forces is apparent, with the identity and even physicality of individual presidential figures and avatars substantially affecting the operation of this power, amid a nuanced dialogue with the nation’s historical narrative. This dynamic occurs across these authors’ work, although they have divergent political and literary approaches. This thesis aims finally to establish this framework of executive power as a fundamental aspect of these authors’ writing that is vital to understanding their thinking about the United States, its history, and socio-political context, which could ultimately be extended to many other cultural and literary texts and their producers

Homophobia and heterosexism : a military social work perspective

Homophobia and heterosexism are forms of prejudice found throughout societies the world over. Prejudice filters to all levels within a society and community. Prejudice thus finds its way into institutions, organisations, families and individuals. The existence of prejudice results in discrimination that causes a vast array of hurt. Homophobic attitudes and hetero-sexist perceptions are known to have impacted social work as a profession as well as social workers as individuals, socialised within society and communities. The same attitude and perceptions are known to be rife within the military as an institution. Prejudice and discrimination has been deemed unconstitutional. Prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation, the focus of this study, are prohibited by the Constitution of South Africa as well as by a policy document of the South African National Defence Force. Changes in law and policy do not necessarily reflect changes in attitudes and perceptions by those on who these policies and laws apply. Social workers with homophobic attitudes and hetero-sexist attitudes are not able to offer a professional service to homosexual clients, and could cause harm where healing is needed. In this study an explorative non-experimental field study was undertaken investigating the existence and extent of homophobic attitudes and hetero-sexist perceptions amongst military social workers employed at Military Health Units, practicing in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The findings of the study indicate that even though the military social workers were not severely homophobic or hetero-sexist, they did reflect a significant degree of reservation. Most of the military social workers did not consider themselves equipped to offer services to homosexual clients

Homophobia and heterosexism : a military social work perspective

Homophobia and heterosexism are forms of prejudice found throughout societies the world over. Prejudice filters to all levels within a society and community. Prejudice thus finds its way into institutions, organisations, families and individuals. The existence of prejudice results in discrimination that causes a vast array of hurt. Homophobic attitudes and hetero-sexist perceptions are known to have impacted social work as a profession as well as social workers as individuals, socialised within society and communities. The same attitude and perceptions are known to be rife within the military as an institution. Prejudice and discrimination has been deemed unconstitutional. Prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation, the focus of this study, are prohibited by the Constitution of South Africa as well as by a policy document of the South African National Defence Force. Changes in law and policy do not necessarily reflect changes in attitudes and perceptions by those on who these policies and laws apply. Social workers with homophobic attitudes and hetero-sexist attitudes are not able to offer a professional service to homosexual clients, and could cause harm where healing is needed. In this study an explorative non-experimental field study was undertaken investigating the existence and extent of homophobic attitudes and hetero-sexist perceptions amongst military social workers employed at Military Health Units, practicing in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The findings of the study indicate that even though the military social workers were not severely homophobic or hetero-sexist, they did reflect a significant degree of reservation. Most of the military social workers did not consider themselves equipped to offer services to homosexual clients

Effects of exogenous myristic acid on growth and germination of Brassica napus L. under zirconium toxicity

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Biotechnology)Lipids when exogenously applied are known to cause various changes in ROS levels produced within plants. They can either be beneficial to the plant when not stimulating the overproduction of ROS thus resulting in improved germination and development or on the contrary, increasing the level of ROS produced, causing oxidative stress and thus leading to cell death of the plant. In this study, we report that a saturated fatty acid known as MA increased the germination percentages of Brassica napus L. seedlings when applied at a low concentration. When applied at higher concentrations, it was shown that elevated levels of ROS within the seedlings occurred therefore leading to a decrease in germination percentage as well as stunting of seedling growth. Physiological experiments such as biomass and cell death determination were conducted to further elucidate the effects of MA on the seedlings. Biochemical assays were performed to determine the oxidative state of specific ROS such as superoxide (O2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)

Effects of exogenous myristic acid on growth and germination of Brassica napus L. under zirconium toxicity

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Biotechnology)Lipids when exogenously applied are known to cause various changes in ROS levels produced within plants. They can either be beneficial to the plant when not stimulating the overproduction of ROS thus resulting in improved germination and development or on the contrary, increasing the level of ROS produced, causing oxidative stress and thus leading to cell death of the plant. In this study, we report that a saturated fatty acid known as MA increased the germination percentages of Brassica napus L. seedlings when applied at a low concentration. When applied at higher concentrations, it was shown that elevated levels of ROS within the seedlings occurred therefore leading to a decrease in germination percentage as well as stunting of seedling growth. Physiological experiments such as biomass and cell death determination were conducted to further elucidate the effects of MA on the seedlings. Biochemical assays were performed to determine the oxidative state of specific ROS such as superoxide (O2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)

Intimacy in romantic relationships during young adulthood: the role of the mother-daughter relationship

This study addressed the role of the mother-daughter relationship on the daughter‟s development of the capacity for intimacy with a romantic partner. The objective of this study was to examine whether separateness in mother-daughter interactions was related to romantic intimacy (sexual and non-sexual intimacy) in romantic relationships. The following instruments were used: 1) Socio-demographic questionnaire; 2) Competence in Mother-Daughter Relationship Questionnaire (ICQ-M) and 3) Personal Assessment of Intimacy Questionnaire (PAIR). 179 adolescent female university students participated in this study most of who were between the ages of 20 and 24. The results indicated that a positive relationship existed between separateness and sexual intimacy (r=.688, p<.01) as well as separateness and non-sexual intimacy (r=.598, p<.01). A positive relationship between connectedness and non-sexual intimacy (r=.468, p<.01) was also observed, however no correlation was observed between connectedness and sexual intimacy. These findings indicate that separateness in mother-daughter interactions has a definite effect on the different dimensions of romantic intimacy. Therefore, late adolescent women who possess the ability to assert themselves and express differences between themselves and their mothers are not as apprehensive as their peers when it comes to romantic intimacy with a partner

Colonyzer: automated quantification of micro-organism growth characteristics on solid agar

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-throughput screens comparing growth rates of arrays of distinct micro-organism cultures on solid agar are useful, rapid methods of quantifying genetic interactions. Growth rate is an informative phenotype which can be estimated by measuring cell densities at one or more times after inoculation. Precise estimates can be made by inoculating cultures onto agar and capturing cell density frequently by plate-scanning or photography, especially throughout the exponential growth phase, and summarising growth with a simple dynamic model (e.g. the logistic growth model). In order to parametrize such a model, a robust image analysis tool capable of capturing a wide range of cell densities from plate photographs is required.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Colonyzer is a collection of image analysis algorithms for automatic quantification of the size, granularity, colour and location of micro-organism cultures grown on solid agar. Colonyzer is uniquely sensitive to extremely low cell densities photographed after dilute liquid culture inoculation (spotting) due to image segmentation using a mixed Gaussian model for plate-wide thresholding based on pixel intensity. Colonyzer is robust to slight experimental imperfections and corrects for lighting gradients which would otherwise introduce spatial bias to cell density estimates without the need for imaging dummy plates. Colonyzer is general enough to quantify cultures growing in any rectangular array format, either growing after pinning with a dense inoculum or growing with the irregular morphology characteristic of spotted cultures. Colonyzer was developed using the open source packages: Python, RPy and the Python Imaging Library and its source code and documentation are available on SourceForge under GNU General Public License. Colonyzer is adaptable to suit specific requirements: e.g. automatic detection of cultures at irregular locations on streaked plates for robotic picking, or decreasing analysis time by disabling components such as lighting correction or colour measures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Colonyzer can automatically quantify culture growth from large batches of captured images of microbial cultures grown during genome-wide scans over the wide range of cell densities observable after highly dilute liquid spot inoculation, as well as after more concentrated pinning inoculation. Colonyzer is open-source, allowing users to assess it, adapt it to particular research requirements and to contribute to its development.</p

Transgender issues in South Africa, with particular reference to the Groote Schuur Hospital Transgender Unit

This article gives an overview of transgender issues in South Africa, with a particular focus on the work of the Transgender Unit, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. The article presents current definitions, diagnostic considerations and healthcare options in the area of gender dysphoria, and then outlines the history, mandate and role of the Transgender Unit. It concludes with some of the current challenges in the field of transgender healthcare and makes recommendations for the way forward.